The Clifton Park commercial development company recently received approval from the Saratoga Springs Design Review Commission to redevelop the 30-year-old building front of Congress Plaza on Congress Street. It hopes to begin the facade upgrades in the next month, pending an application for a building permit, and complete them by July, said Donald MacElroy, DCG vice president.

Contractor Bast Hatfield Construction is working at the site on a 150-room Embassy Suites Saratoga Springs that could open between October and December, MacElroy said. Bast Hatfield also will perform the facade work. The project adds steel arches, iron columns and signs, and extends brick to match what exists.

"It only makes sense to bring the balance of the center into the 21st century," MacElroy said.

The roughly 50,000-square-foot west side shopping plaza contains about 12 shops, some of them vacant. Retailers now operating in the plaza include Citizens Bank, Purdy's Discount Wine, Rent-A-Center, Creative Image Hair Design, Peking Chinese Restaurant and Istanblue Mediterranean Cuisine.